Trail builder



Oct. 23, 1934. L Q BIRD l1,977,817

TRAIL BUILDER Filed Nov. 6, 19.53 4 Sheets-Sheet l lluumllllml'lml.

Oct. 23, 1934. L o, Emp 1,977,811

TRAIL BUILDER` 4 Filed Nov. e, 1933 4 sheets-'sheet 2 Inventor L. O.BIRD TRA-IL BUILDER Oct. 23, 1934.

Filed Nov. 6, 1933 y4 Sheets-Sheet 3 lll/lll Oct. 23, 1934. L. 'Q BIRD1,977,811

TRAIL BUILDER Filed Nov. 6, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 la. 6a.

a 11x sa 96 102.

Patented oa. 1934 TRAIL BUILDER Len 0. Bird, Glendale, Calif., assignerto W. L.

Adan, Rexlmrg, Idaho Application November s, 193s, serial No. 696,783 1sclaim'. (ci. 37-144) 'Ihis invention. relates generallyv to devicescommonly known as trail builders which are used for removing ordisplacing dirt, sand, conglomerate, boulders, stumps, trees and othermate- 5 rials, whether loose or solid, -the present device beingdesigned to perform with superior facility these various objects, singlyor combined, under the extremely severe conditions encountered inbuilding fire breaks, trails and roads over heavily wooded,overgrown orrocky terrain or mountain side.

Of the manifold objects of this invention, the prime one is to provide atrailbuilding implement in' which the blade member may bef elevated 1:5higher than has heretofore been possible, to permit removal of .materialfrom higher levels on the sides of embankments, hills or mountains, tofacilitate the rolling of large boulders ahead or over embankments byapplying the force near the top of said boulders, and to provide`greater leverage to facilitate the uprooting of trees and stumps.

Another object is the provision of a trail building implement which isconnected to and supported on a traction device of any desired typethrough suitable shock absorbing means Ito prevent the severe impactsand loads resulting from 'uprooting trees and stumps or removing largeboulders and massive quantities of other material, from injuring saidtraction device.

Another and very important object is the provision of a trail buildingimplement which connects to the drawvbar of any desired type of tractiondevice and is supported through a yield- 35 ing and flexible operatingmechanism'on the track layer frames of said traction device, thuslocalizing the pull 'and impact shocks on the draw bar and itsconnection to the traction device, and

placing the weight of the implement together" 40 l"with the verticaloperating loads and strains on the track layer frames, thereby directingthe operating loads and strains to the parts of the traction devicewhichy arespeciilcally designed to perform this severe service.

A further object is the provision of a trail building implement in whichthe blade member is pivotally secured to the forward end of the frame,thus permitting selectivev adjustment of the angle of the blade withrespect to the ground surface without tilting the frame, therebyeliminating the twisting forces and permitting alight er construction ofthe frame. A Another object is the provision of a. trail buildingimplement which may have a straight trans- 'verse blade for .pushingmaterial ahead of thev implement and by attaching a wing blade at anangle to the transverse blade may be converted to cast the material toeither side of the implement.

As a further object it provides a simple and compact yet substantial andhighly effective power controlled implement in which the blade member isadaptable to a multiplicity of classes of material moving work and maybe raised and lowered lfor controlling the degree of operation quicklyand .efllciently with minimum of power and very little strain on thevital parts of the tractor and the control mechanism of the implement,and said blade may also be tilted transversely for selective adjustmentof its angle with respect to the ground surface.

This invention is an improvement over the type of mounting and controlmechanism described and claimed in my co-pendingapplication for patentfiled Jan. 3, 1933, Serial No..649,921, and also the type of 'controlmechanism, blade and wing blade attachment described and claimed in myco-pending application for patent filed Aug. 8, 1933, Serial No.684,215.

With these and other objects in view the inv ventlon consists in thecombination, correlation and construction of parts, members and featureswhich will be described in the specification and will be finally pointedout in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a device embodying my invention.'r

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of Figure 1 illustrating the extra highlift of the blade member.r

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the slidable support for the rear endof the cantilever brackets. 'Figure 5 is a section on line 5--5 ofFigure 2.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 5. Figure 7 is a section online '1 -'7 of Figure 5'. 95` 4 Figure 8 is a partially broken awaysection taken approximately on line 8-8 of Figure 7 andillustrating'atilted positionl of the blade.

'Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the rear of the bulldozer blade.y

Figure 10 is a vertical section through the suspension means ofjtheoperating mechanism.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in section and showing thewing blade attach-v ment in place.

Figure 12 is a front elevation, broken away land partially-in section,of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is alperspective view showing the 4 rear of the wing bladeattachment. j Figure 14 is a perspective view illustrating the 110removable bulldozer end plate with the wing blade attachment mounting inplace.

Figure 15 is a section on line 15-15 of Figure 1.

Figure 16 is a fragmentary plan view of a modied form of the device.

Figure 17 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view, partlyl broken away andin section illustrating another position of the blade on the deviceshown in Figure 16.

Figure 18 is a section on line 18-18 of Figure 16.

Figure 19 is a partially broken away section taken approximately on line19-19 of Figure 18- and illustrating a tilted position of the blade.

Referring to Figures 1 to 15 inclusive:

The implement is shown as comprising a frame 1, consisting of sidemembers 2 and 3, the rear ends of which-are connected to the draw bar 4of the tractor T, as shown at 5, and the front ends of which arearranged to be conjoined by a -substantial cross member- 6, which isdetachably connected to the side members 2 and 3 for the purpose ofdismantling the frame 1 to facilitate shipment and to substitute crossmembers carrying other types of tools or blades, one of which isillustrated in Figures 16 to 19 inclusive and which will be describedsubsequently.

To effect this 4dismantling and substitution quickly and eiciently thecross member 6 is provided with rearwardly projecting extensions 7 whichare arranged to engage the ends of hollow side members 2 and 3, and areretained in place by pins or bolts 8, see Figures 5, 6 and 11.

The blade 9 has a centrally disposed reinforcing member l which in turnhas aflixed thereto the fianged trunnion member 11 adapted to bepivotally retained,'as shown at 12, within the bearing 13 mounted on thecross member 6. The bottom surface of the reinforcing member slidablycontacts an abutment 14 on the cross member 6 to preventl cocking orforward tilting of blade 9 under operating loads.

The blade 9 also has'near its ends other reinforcing members 15 whichare arcuate concentrically with the trunnion member 11 and have the fiatfaces 16 adapted to slidably contact the fiat faces 17 on the brackets18. Brackets 18 are secured to the cross member 6 and are also of anarcuate contour to correspond with reinforcing members 15. Lugs 19project rearwardly from the reinforcing members 15, have holes 20, andare adapted to engage the arcuate slots 21 in brackets 18. The sides ofthe arcuate slots 21 have a series of holes 22 bored radially to thecenter of trunnion member 11.

The angle of the blade 9 is selectively controlled by transverselytilting it about trunnion 11 and then locking it in the selectedposition by passing pins 23 through holes 22 in brackets 18 and theholes in lugs 19.

The contacting surfaces 16 and 17 of the reinforcing members 15 andbrackets 18, respectively, aid the abutment 14 in preventing forwardtilting or cooking of the blade 9 under operating loads in its level orany tilted positions. v

The blade 9 is reinforced longitudinally along the cutting edge by anangle 24 and along the upper edge by web 25. The angle 24 may be weldedto the back of the blademember 9 and the web 25 may be formed by bendingback the material of which the blade member is made.

The mechanism forcontrolling the degree of operation comprises atransverse shaft 26 journaled in brackets 18 and bearing 13 and having'secured thereon the lever arms 27 which in turn, at their ends, areadapted to pivotally engage clevis members 28 on the vertical rods 29.Each vertical rod 29 is slidably engaged within a ball 30 which in turnis operatively supported Within the socket bearing 31 at the end of eachcantilever bracket 32.

Spring 33 interposed between the bottom of ball 30 and the top of clevis28 tends to neutralize shocks resulting from forcing the blade into theground and spring 34 interposed between the top o'f ball 30 and theadjusting nut 35 tends to neutralize shocks resulting from abruptraising of `blade 9. By virtue of the slidable engagement between rod 29and ball 30 the tension of both springs 33 and 34 may be regulated byadjusting nut 35.

Each cantilever bracket 32 consists of a forwardly projecting horizontalmember 36 having its rear end bent downward as at 37 to form a diagonalbrace 38 which is secured to a slide member 39 as shown at 40. Thediagonal brace 38 is formed as shown at 41 so that the horizontal member36 is directly over the tracklayer, thus it can be effectively supportedat both the outer and the inner sides of the tracklayer frame F on thesupporting member 42 and the bracing member 43 respectively. The slidemember 39 is loosely positioned for longitudinal movement on the slidebar 44 supported in bracket 45 which in turn is secured to thetracklayer frame F.

In practice the tracklayer frame F consists of a longitudinallystationary portion 46 and a longitudinally slidable portion 47 withshock absorbing means 48 interposed between the stationary and movableportions 46 and 47 respectively. Therefore, inasmuch as the cantileverbracket 32 is secured rigidly through the supporting member 42 andbracing member 43 to the movable portion 47 of the tracklayer frame Fthe end of the diagonal brace 38 -is secured to the stationary portion46 of the tracklayer frame F through the longitudinally slidable member39 to prevent restriction of the relative longitudinal movement betweenthe portions 46 and 47 of the tracklayer frame F.

The transverse shaft 26 has at one end thereof a crank arm 49 connectedas at 50 to piston rod 51 of the hydraulic power unit 52 which in turnis pivotally mounted on side member 3 as shown at 53.

Fluid under pressure is conducted through hose lines 54 and 55 to thehydraulic power unit 52 from pump 56 and is controlled by valve 57within pump 56 (conventional therefore not shown in detail) to actuatethe lifting and lowering mech mism.

In practice a centrally disposed draw bar connection 58, common incertain types of tractors, is incapable of equalizing any unbalancedpull on said draw bar. For this reason resilient draft means 59connecting each end of draw bar 4 to therespective sides of tracklayerframes F are provided. Each draft means 59 consists of a rod 60connected to draw bar 4 as at 61 and slidably engaged within blocks 62which in turn is secured to the outer side of each tracklayer frame F..Springs 63 on rod 60 and interposed between each end of block 62 andadjusting nuts 64 tend to absorb the shock incident on the initial pullof the tractor on the frame 1 and also tend to keep the draw barsubstantially in the transverse position under an unbalanced pull, thuspreventing bending 'and twisting strains on frame 1.

In some cases additional shock absorbing -Y means 65 at the rear ends ofside members 2 and 3 may be used, see Figure 15. Each shock absorbingmeans 65 consists of a clevis member 66 connected to -draw bar 4 bymeans of a pin 67 passing through slots-68 in the clevis member 66 andhole 69 at the ends of draw bar 4. The hollow shank 70 of each clevismember 66 ls ilxed Within the hollow ends of side members 2 and 3respectively. A spring 71 is positioned within the hollow shank 70 on abolt 72 and interposed between the head of bolt 72 and the block 73.

The bolt 72 is slidably engaged in block 73 and has the spring tensionadjusting nut 73 on its end.

The shock of the initial pull will cause movement of side members 2 and3.in direction of arrow 75 causing clevis members 66 to move rearwardlyacross the draw bar 4 by virtue of slots 68 and also by 'reason ofabutment of bolt 72 against draw bar 4 causing block '73 to moverearwardly along bolt 72 thereby compresisng spring 71 and absorbing theshock.

In certain types of work it is necessary to cast the removed material toeither side of the implement. To accomplish this without substitutingthe present blade assembly, a reversible'wing blade attachment 76 isprovided, see Figures 11 to 14 inclusive.

The wing blade attachment 76 consists of a blade member 77 having twocutting edges 78- and 79 which are reinforced longitudinally by means ofangles 80 and 81 welded tothe back of the blade member. mounted on aboxed frame 82 andis further re- Y inforced by Webs 83 and 84.

The tapering end 'of the. reversible wing blade attachment 76 ispivotally secured to the bulldozer blade 9 at a point just beyond thecenter of the blade toward the discharge end of the same, as shown atf85. The reinforcing web 84 is provided with a flange 86 Vadapted to besecured, by means of bolts 87, to the bracket 88 which in turn ismounted on one of the removable end plates 89. -The bracket 88 has aseries of holes 90 which permit selective tilting of wing bladeattachment 76 with respect vto the blade 9,` as illustrated by dottedlines B in Figure 12.

By reason of thetiltable blade 9 and the relatively tiltable wing'bladeattachment 76 with respect to the blade 9 a combination of angles withrespect 'o the ground surface may be obtained.

It w be noted that the Wing blade attachment 76, when in place, divideslthe blade area into two parts, one a comparatively smaller transverseportion and the other a comparatively larger portion at an angle to theline of travel. The larger angled portion provides the suitable` amountof force to cast the removed material to the side of the implementacross the transverse portion of the blade efficiently. y

This type of blade in whichv one part of its area is transverse and theother atan angle to the line of travel has beenspeciflcally designed, aspointed out in my co-pending'application for patentled Aug. 8, 1933,Serial No. 684,215, to overcome largely the tendency to deflect theimplement and tractor from its course of travel as is the case whenusing the common straight blade set at an angle for side casting. l

This deflecting tendency is a natural result when using an angledstraight blade.- By presenting part of the blade area transversely tothe line 'of travel a greater amount of material piles up ahead of thetransverse part of the blade, before it is nally discharged, thusincreasing the load The blade member 77 is at that side of the blade andtending to balance the deecting effect of the angled part of the blade.

It will also be noted that both removable end plates 89 are used onblade 9 for bulldozing. When the reversible wing blade attachment 76 isused one end plate 89 supports the outer end of the attachment and theother end plate is removed so that it does not obstruct the dischargingof the removed material.

Dotted lines C in Figure 11 illustrate the reversed position of wingblade attachment 76.

`Referring toA Figures 16 to 19 inclusive:

lIn this instance the forward ends of side members'2a and 3d of frame laare arranged to be conjoined by a cross member 91 having the form of lanisosceles triangle of which the apex or point projects forwardly. Thecross member 91 is provided with the rearwardly .projecting extensions7a'which are arranged to engage the ends of hollow side members 2a and3a and are retained in place by bolts or pins 8a.

A channel 92 is pivotally secured at a point' pivotally retained, asshown at 100, within the bearing 95 by bearing cap 101. The bottomsurface of reinforcing member 99 slidably contacts an abutment 102on thechannel' 92 to prevent y f cooking or forward tilting of blade 97 underoperating loads.

The blade 97 also has near its ends other reinforcing members 103 whichare arcuate concentrically with the trunnion member 99 and have the flatfaces 104 adapted to slidably contact the flat faces 105 on thebracketsl06. Brackets 106 are secured to the channel 92 and are also ofan arcuate contour to correspond with reinforcing members 103.

The angle of blade 97 is selectively controlled by transversely tiltingit about trunnion 99 and locking it in the selected position bypassingpins 107 through the holes 108 in the sides forming slots 109 inbrackets 106 and the holes 110 in lugs 4111 on the reinforcing members103. Lugs 111 are adapted to engage the arcuate slots 109 as pointed outabove inthe preferred form.

The contacting surfaces 104 and'105vof the reinforcing members 103 andbrackets 106 respectively, ald the abutment 102-in preventingl forwardtilting of blade 97 under operating loads in its level` oranytiltedpositions.

The blade 97 is reinforce longitudinally along its cutting edge by an ane 112 and along its upper edge by web 113. l

A transverse shaft 1' 4 journaled in bearings 1 15 on the cross mem r 91has fixed thereon a pair of lever arms 116/ and at one end thereof acrank arm 117. 'I'he lever arms 116 and crank '.arm 117 are connected.to the'rods 29a of the reand blade 97 may be adjusted, as shown inFigure 16, for pushing removed material ahead of the implement or as inFigure 17 for casting the material to the side of the implement. Theblade is retained in its transverse position by links 118 and in theside casting position by link 119 at one side and boltl 120 passingthrough channel 92 and cross member 91 at the other side.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

l. In a trail builder, a frame adapted for connection to a tractiondevice, a blade atA the forward end of said frame, a lifting andlowering device on said frame, brackets secured to the tracklayer framesof said traction4 device, flexible and resilient connecting meansbetween said lifting and lowering device and said brackets.

2. In a trail builder, the combination of a frame, resilient means forconnecting said frame to a tractor, a blade at the forward end of saidframe, hydraulic operation degree control means on said frame,cantilever brackets on the tracklayer framesof said tractor, flexibleand resilient connecting means between said hydraulic operation degreecontrol means and said cantilever brackets.

3. In an implement of the character disclosed, the combinationof a framehaving rearwardly extending side members, resilient means for connectingthe rear ends of said side members to the draw bar of a tractor, a bladeat the forward end of said frame, hydraulically operated raising'andlowering device at the forward end of said frame, cantilever brackets onthe tracklayer frames of said tractor, resilient and flexible connectingmeans between said raising and lowering device and said cantileverbrackets.

4. In an implement of the character described, the combination of aframe resiliently connected to the draw bar of a tractor, auxiliaryflexible and resilient draft means between said draw bar and thetracklayer frames of said tractor, a blade at the forward end of saidframe, hydraulic operation degree control means at the forward end ofsaid frame, cantilever brackets on said tracklayer frames, flexible andresilient connecting means between said operation degree control meansandl said cantilever brackets.

5. In a trail builder, a frame adapted for resilient connection to atraction device, a blade pivoted for transverse tilting on the forwardend of said frame, means for retaining said blade in the selectedposition, hydraulic means for controlling the degree of operation onsaid frame, cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of saidtraction device, flexible and resilient means for connecting saidoperation degree control means to said cantilever brackets.

6. A trail building implement comprising a frame resiliently connectedto a tractor, a blade pivoted for transverse tilting on the forward endof said frame, means for locking said blade in the selected position,means for preventing forward tilting of said blade, hydraulic liftingand lowering means on the forward end of said frame, forwardlyprojecting cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor,flexible and resilient means for connecting said lifting and loweringmeans to the forward ends of said cantilever brackets.

7. In a device of the character disclosed, in

. combination with a frame connected'to the draw bar of a tractor, anauxiliary draft means which consists of rods connected to the drawbar ofsaid tractor, brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor forslidably supporting the forward ends of said rods, springs on said rodsinterposed between the sides of said brackets and tension adjustingmeans.

8. In al device of the character disclosed, in combination with a framehaving rearwardly extending side members, shock absorbing meanscomprising hollow shanked clevis members fixed within'the ends of saidside members, pin and slot connection between said clevis members andthe draw bar of a tractor, bolts slidably supported within the ends ofsaid side members, heads of said bolts abutting against said draw bar,-springs interposed between the heads of said bolts and their supportingmeans, tension adjusting nuts on said bolts.

9. A trail builder comprising a frame connected to a tractor, atransverse blade tiltably pivoted on the forward end of said frame,removable end plates on said transverseblade, a reversible wing Abladepivoted at one end near the center of said transverse blade, said wingblade inclined forward at an angle to said transverse blade, means forselectively 'adjusting the tilt of said wing blade, means on said framefor raising and lowering said trail builder, flexible and resilientmeans for connecting said raising and lowering means to a tractor.

l0. In a trail builder, the combination of a frame resiliently connectedto a tractor, hydraulic operation degree control means on said frame,cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor, flexibleand resilient connecting means between said operation degree controlmeans and said cantilever brackets, a transverse blade tiltably pivotedon the forward 'end of said frame, means for locking said blade in theselected position, means for preventing forward tilting of said blade,removable end plates on said blade, a reversible wing blade tiltablypivoted at o ne end near the center of said transverse blade, said wingblade inclined forward at an angle with respect to said transverseblade, means for supporting the outer end of said wing blade and meansfor selectively adjusting the tilt of said wing blade.

11. In an implement as described in claim 10, in which the wing bladecomprises a reversible blade having two cutting edges, longitudinalreinforcing means for said cutting edges, a frame for mounting saidblade thereon, vertical reinforcing webs between said frame and saidblade, a pivotal support for one end of said blade and a selectivelyadjustable support for the other end of said blade.

12. A trail builder comprising a yframe connected to a tractor, araising and lowering device on said frame, cantilever brackets on thetracklayer frames of said tractor, resilient and flexible connectingmeans between said raising and lowering device and said cantileverbrackets, a tiltable blade swingingly associated with the forward end ofsaid frame, means for locking saidlblade in the selected transverse orangled positions and means for locking said blade in the selected tiltedposition.

13. In a trail builder, the combination of a frame resiliently connectedto a tractor, hydraulicv operation degree control means on said frame,cantilever brackets on the tracklayer frames of said tractor, flexibleand resilient connecting means between said operation degree controlmeans and said cantilever brackets, a transverse member swinginglysupported atthe forward end of said frame, a blade tiltably pivoted tosaid transverse member, means for locking said blade with saidtransverse member in the selected position, means for preventing forwardtilting of said 150 blade and means for locking said transverse memberin the transverse or angled positions.

14. In an implement of the character disclosed, the combination of aframe, a triangular cross member at the forward end thereof, atransverse member swingingly pivoted to the apex of said triangularcross member, a blade tiltably pivoted to said transverse member, meansfor locking said blade to said transverse member in the selected tiltedposition, means for preventing forward tiltn ing of said blade, meansfor locking said transverse member and blade assembly in the transverseor angled position. 15. In an implement as described in claim 12, inwhich the lifting and lowering means consist of a transverse shaftjournaled on the forward end of the frame, lever arms on said shaft,flexible and resilient means for connecting said lever arms to thecantilever brackets, a crank arm at one end of said shaft, a hydraulicpower unit on one of the side members of said frame and connected tosaid crank arm.

16. In an implement as describedl in claim 12, in which the exible andresilient means con necting the raising and lowering device to thecantilever brackets consist of vertical rods connected to said raisingand lowering means, balls slidably positioned on said rods, socketbearings for said balls at the forward ends of said cantilever brackets,springs on said rods for absorbing the raising and lowering shocks,tension adjusting means for said springs.

17. In an implement of the character disclosed, a frame adapted forconnection to a tractor having telescoping tracklayer frames, a blade,control mechanism on said frame, cantilever brackets, rigid supports forsaid cantilever brackets on the sldable portions of the telescopingtracklayer frames of said tractor, slidable supports for said cantileverbrackets on the fixed portions of said telescopin'g tracklayer frames,means for connecting said control mechanism to said brackets.

18. In an implement of the character disclosed, in combination with aframe adapted for connection to a tractor having telescoping tracklayerframes, a blade on said frame, hydraulic control mechanism on saidframel cantilever brackets rigidly lsupported on the slidable portionsof the telescoping tracklayer frames of said tractor. braces for saidbrackets, means for slidably securing said braces to the fixed portionsof said tracklayer frames, means for connecting said hydraulic controlmechanism to said brackets.

LEN O. BIRD.

